Eliza j



(Nmdel.) E. J. WHITLOW.

f WASHING MACHINE.

No. 255,742; Y Patnted'M-ar; 28,1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIZA J. WHITLOW, OF MEXICO, MISSOURI.l

WASHING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION -forming part of Letters PatentNo. 255,742, dated March28, 1862.

Application filed September 22, 18,80. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELiZA J. WH1TLOW,of Mexico, Missouri, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Washing-Machines, of which thefollowing is a spccication.

My improvement relates to that class `of washing-machines" calledpounders,7 and is so constructed and arranged that averticallyreciprocating movement is imparted to a plunger for thepurpose of pounding the clothes and cleansing the same by an agitationof the water produced by the up-and-down movement ot' said plunger. i

The improvement consists in a novel construction and arrangement ofparts, which will be hereinafter more fully described, whereby theclothes are more expeditiously and thoroughly cleansed and the splashingof water outside of the tub more effectually prevented.

The nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is or may becarried into el'ect will be readily understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings,`in which- Figure l represents a vertical sectionof a clothes-washing machine constructed in accordance with myinvention. Fig. 2 is an inverted plan View of the plunger.

lVashing-machines of the class commonly called pounders7 have beendefective in several particulars, the essential particular being thatthe mechanism usually employed for producing a suction and forcing airand water through the body of clothes `has been heretofore extended sofar down into the interior of the cone that no space was providedbetween it and the bottom of the tub for the free circulation of air andwater.

It is a desideratum in washing-machines of l ards B B, as seen in Fig. lof the drawings,

upon which is mounted or secured the tub F, which is to receive theclothes to be washed.

In the center of shaft I), arranged beneath` the tub F, which hassuitable bearingsinl standards B B, is rigidly secured a fly-wheel, E,by means of which rotary movement is imparted to the ends ot" shaft D,which terminate in cranks e c. Motion is communicated from cranks e e bymeans-of connecting-rods c a, which aresuitabl y secured to t-heendsofcrossbar b, placed above thc standards B B, as seen in Fig. 1 of thedrawings. To overcome any tendency of the cross-bar b moving laterallyor becoming displaced, I form therein guideways or openingsl 2, throughwhich pass guiderods c c, formed on'or projecting from the upper ends ofstandards B B. Through another opening,3, formed in thecenter ot" saidcrossbar b, loosely passes the plunger-rod f, in which I form, atsuitable intervals apart, small holes g for the reception of pin h,whereby the plunger-rod f and its accessories, hereinafter described,may be adjusted as desired. I interpose between the ends of cross-bar band the upper ends ot' the standards springs d d, which encircle theguide-rods c c, `and which tend to stead y the cross-bar and to assistmaterially in securing an accurate up-and-down movement of the plunger.

t' 'i are cross pieces or bars suitably secured to the interior and nearthe lower rim or edge of the plunger I, as seen in Fig. 2. The plunger Iis secured to the rod f by means of a screw, as seen in Fig. 2, whichpasses through the center of the bars The rod f passes loosely throughthe upper part ot' conicalshaped body Gr, whose oce is, to prevent thesplashing of water outside of the tub, and is at liberty to move upwardand downward to suit the condition of the contents of the tub.

On the interior of cone or truncated body G, near its upper end, issecured a cylindricallyshaped body, H, formed and positioned so as toreceive and almost completely envelop the plunger I When in its raisedposition. Said cylindrical-shaped body H is unlike others heretofore inuse, in that it does not extend down flush, or nearly so, with the coneor truncated body used for preventing the Water splashing outside thetub when in use; but it is made to extend downward a suitable distancelon the interior of the cone G, as seen in the drawings, leaving at alltimes a space bevplunger is caused to pound the clothes to effect tweenthe tub and the said body. By thus forming and arranging saiil body H,as seen in the drawings, I provide lample space for the free circulationot' water and air through the contents ot' the tub, while at the sametime the clothes are free to move about unobstructedly in the tub, sothat every time the plunger descends a different portion of the clothesis presented to the plunger to be pounded, whereby the process ot'washing is rendered more thorough and uniform. The two bodies G and Hare so formed and arranged, as shown, that an annular space, J, isformed between the two.

Motion is im parted to the cross-bar b through the intermedi-ai y ot'wheel E, shaft I), and rods a a. The cross-bar now being moved up anddown, carrying with it the plunger-rod, the

the cleansing. In pressing down the pounder upon the clothes waterrushes up into the cone G and also into the space J, as shown in thedrawings, and thus force and action of the compressed air thereincontained are brought into use, rendering more thorough the process of'washing. It will be observed,however,that in my improvement the cone Gis fitted loosely upon the rod f, and that its own weight will alwaysbring it in such position as to prevent the splashing of' water outsidethe tub. It is also ot' sutlicient weight to resist the force of thewater and air with which it comes in contact.

Having described lny improvement, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, isf In a pounder for washingmachines, the cornbinationof the plunger-rod and plunger with the cone or truncated body G,provided on its interior with the cylindrical-shaped body H, whichextends midway between its top and lower edge, as and for the purposesset forth.r

June 29, 1880.

ELIZA J. WHITLOW. Witnesses:

A. B. CLUSTER, JOHN M. GoNDoN.

